Device for plugging oil wells



May 4 1926.

. R. o. MAYNARD DEVICE FOR PLUGGING OIL WELLS Filed May 9, 1925 ha 2 w w z 7 /a 0 f J w\\ v./ n. w 5 filo E ww v b Qmacuu MW NH HI. H H./ ,N W WMIM WWW h J m A Y h, B.

Patented May 4, 1926.

asagna 1 UNITED stares PATENT oFFIQE,

nosoon o. MAYNARD, on :MABLAND, OKLAHOMA, Assrenon or ONE-HALF 'IO WILLIAM E. HAIR-DIN, on MARLAND, OKLAHOMA.

DEVICE non rnueerne OIL WELLS.

Application filed May 9, 1925. Serial No. 29,218.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Roscoe O. MAYNARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marland, .in the county of Noble and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Plugging Oil W'ells, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to devices for plugging oil wells, and particularly to devices in the nature of plugs to'be forced into the well casing and then expanded therein.

The general object of the invention is to provide means for plugging up a well where water has been struck, which comprises a block of soft metal and an expanding device adapted to be driven into the plug to thereby be expanded against the wall of the well.

' A further object is to provide means whereby the steel expander and its head may be entirely covered with a seal of soft metal to thus prevent the corrosive action of the water on the steel, the soft metal being of such character as will not be affected by the water.

' A. still further object is to provide a device of this character which is adapted particularly to be used in oil wells where water has been struck and it is necessary to plug up the well tube, and yet where the water is of such character as to ordinarily corrode and rust out metal parts which might be used for the plugging operation.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of my improved plug;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of the lower end of a well with the plug in place therein and expanded;

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view through a well showing the manner in which this plugging device is used, the plugging device being .in section.

Referring to Figure 1, 1O designates the plug proper which is preferably made of lead or other soft material and which is de signed to be placed in the well. Thecentral portion of this plug is provided with an opening 11 and adapted to be engaged with this plug is the swedge, designated generally 12. This swedge has a tapered body 13 terminating in a point which is adapted to be .'inserted within the opening in the member and to be engaged in this opening by a transverse pin 14 which passes through the member '10 and intersects the central opening ll'and passes through a perforation 15 formed in the tapered end of the portion 13. Above the portion 13 the swedge is formed with a centrally disposed neck 16 and a driving head 17. The driving'head, the shank 16 and the portion 13 are all formed of steel or other hard metal, and the parts 13,16 and l7-are cast in one piece.

Surrounding this neck or shank 16 is a lead seal 18 which is cast around the shank and which is slightly greater in diameter adj acentits lower end than the diameter of the upper end of the tapered portion 13. The diameter of the member 10 will be in accordance with the diameter of the casing. Thus, for instance, if the casing is six and five-eighths inches in diameter, the plug 10 will. be six and a half inches in diameter and the plug will be whatever length is deemed necessary. The swedge is fourteen inches from its extreme point to the point of largest diameter of the tapered portion 13, the shank is approximately eight inches, and the driving head 17 about two inches thick, while the driving head is about five inches in diameter and the shank 16 is about two inches in diameter. 7 i

In Figure 3, I show the plug after it has been put inplace. In this figure A designates the Well casing, B the earth or other material through which the well tube has been forced, C a stratum of oil sand, and D a cave- 1n in the oil sand through which water is discharged. In the use of this device, the

plug is inserted within the well and lowered to the. bottom of the cave-in by means of a bailer or like device, the head 17 being provided for this purpose withan eye19 tapped into the head 17. After themember 10 has reached the bottom of the cave-in D and rests upon the sand or other object at the bottom of the cave-in, drilling tools or'other devices of like naturc'are allowed to drop upon head 17, thusdriving the head and the wedge 13 or expander downward. This tends to break the pin 14, as shown in Figure 2, and the wedge is driven downward, greatly expanding the lead of the. body 10 so that it not only fills up the space defined by the well bore but is forced upward over the top of the expander 13 and up against the lead 18 so that this lead 18 is forced upward and nitward and around the head 17 andeven-tually over the top of the head 17 so that the steel forming the parts 18, 16 and 1? is entirely closed in and covered by this lead.

The lead body 10 shuts off the water and entirely prevents the water from coming up through the casing under pressure. The seal 18 being larger than the swedge or expander 13 is shoved upward over the top of the driving head and the blows spread it out over the driving cap and this seals it from rust, whereas if the driving cap or any of the other parts were not sealed the mineral water in these wells would rust the pointed extremity or other parts of the steel body and cause a leak. The pin let is of tempered steel and will break when the expander is forced downward.

I claim 1. A plug of the character described comprising a body made of soft metal having nearly the diameter of the well to be plugged and having a longitudinally extending tapered bore open at one end and extending a relatively slight distance into the body, a tapered swedge of hard metal having its smaller end adapted to fit within the tapered bore and its large end having nearly the diameter of the soft metal body, and a frangible pin intersecting the bore in the soft metal body and passing through the small end of the swedge.

- 2. A plug of the character described comprising a body made of soft metal having nearly the diameter of the well to be plugged and having a longitudinally extending bore open at one end, and a swedge tapered to fit within said bore and engage therewith, said swedge including a tapered portion of hard metal, a shank, a driving head cast in one piece with the-shank and tapered portion, and a seal of soft metal greater in diameter than the large end of the tapered portion and surrounding the shank.

3. Means for plugging oil wells comprising a body of soft metal having a longitudinally extending bore, a swedge consisting of a tapered portion ofhard metal having an integral shank, a drivinghead, the tapered portion at its extremity fitting into the bore of the body and being connected thereto by a transverse pin, and a sealingelement of soft metal surrounding the shank and disposed between the largest end of the tapered portion of the swedge and the driving head, the seal having its greatest diameter greater than the greatest diameter of the tapered 1,5esn'eo to by said transverse pin, and a sealing ele ment of lead surrounding the shank and dies posed between the largest end of the swedge and the driving head and having its greatest diameter greater than the greatest diameter of the tapered portion and being beveled to said tapered portion.

5. Means for plugging oil wells comprising a cylindrical body of lead having a longitudinally extending, somewhat tapered bore at its'upper end and a frangible pin 6X? tending across said bore, a swedge consist-' ing of a tapered portion of hard metal having an integral shank and a driving head on the upper end of the shank, the tapered portion at its extremity fitting into the tapered bore of the body and being connected thereto by said transverse pin, and a sealing element of lead surrounding the shank and disposed between the largest end of the swedge and the driving head and having its greatest diameter greater than the greatest diameter of the tapered portion and being beveled to said tapered portion, the upper end of the swedge being slightly conical.

6. A plug of the character described comprising a body made of soft metal having nearly the diameter of the well to be plugged and having a longitudinally extending tapering bore opening upon the upper end of the body and extending a relatively short distance thereinto, and a swedge tapered to permit the lower end to fit within said bore, the swedge being formed of hard metal and having its larger end nearly the diameter of the soft metal body, a driving head for the swedge, and a seal of soft metal carried by the swedge and adapted to envelop the driving head and seal the same against contact with liquid when the swedge has been fully driven into the soft metal body.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature. 1

ROSCOE o. MAYNARD. 

